Cedevita hires Bozidar Maljkovic

Coaching great Bozidar Maljkovic returns to the Euroleague for the first time since the 2007 Final Four as the new head coach at Cedevita Zagreb. Maljkovic, 60, is one of just five head coaches in European history to have won the Euroleague title four or more times. He signed a multi-year contract with Cedevita, which will make its Euroleague debut this season. He arrives from Lokomotic Kuban, which he led to within a few baskets of the Eurocup Finals last season with a 9-5 record. Lokomotiv reached the semifinals of the Russian League. Maljkovic had already been a coach for 18 years when he won back-to-back continental cups with Jugoplastika Split of Croatia in 1989 and 1990, making him one of only three coaches to repeat as champion in the Final Four era that started in 1988. His next Euroleague title came with Limoges of France in 1993, marking the first and last time a French team has ever conquered the continent. And his last one was in 1996 with Panathinaikos, another such first for Greek basketball. 

Maljkovic started his career in his native Serbia with Belgrade clubs Usce, Radnicki and Red Star between 1971 and 1986, when he moved to Split. He coached F.C. Barcelona from 1990 to 1992 and faced his former team in another Euroleague title game, and stayed at Limoges from 1992 to 1995, before two seasons with Panathinaikos. After one year at Racing Paris in France, he spent five with Unicaja in Spain, with whom he won the Korac Cup, and two with Real Madrid. He took over at Tau Ceramica of Spain in the spring of 2007 and guided that team to another Final Four appearance. Altogether, Maljkovic has won five trophies in Europe and six national titles in three different countries and seven national cups.